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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Getting our Kicks On Route 66

We began our road trip in Santa Barbara following Highway 101, that wonderful stretch of highway that follows the Pacific Coastline. We headed inland and around Los Angeles via Pasedena, looping just south of the San Gabriel Mountain's sparcely snow capped peaks.

We had just entered the desert country when the fancy little gizmo in the rental car alerted us to the fact that we were on the Historic Route 66. We don't use GPS things, preferring the old fashioned map system but this came with the car and it was on so it provided some entertainment. . .and we wouldn't have known we were on Route 66 without it as it wasn't marked by roadsigns. It was a kick so we should have suspected it, right?

Our route (pun intended) took us between Death Valley National Park to the north and the Mojave National Preserve to the south. A long barren stretch of highway - the topography a sharp contrast to the lush tropical beachside we had left.

The dry desert landscape was misleading as we found ourselves climbing - in fact reached 4,730 feet at Halloran Summit - much higher than our Snoqualmie Pass back in Washington State.

We made a brief stop in Barstow and had lunch - couldn't see much reason for staying there any longer (apologies to anyone reading this who lives there. . .but what does one do when one lives in Barstow anyway?)

We arrived in Summerlin, just northeast of downtown Las Vegas seven hours after we had left Santa Barbara. We had traveled 364 miles. Traffic nearing Los Angeles even in the middle of the day had slowed to a crawl and we slowed again as we circled the outskirts of Vegas, (photo taken as we crept past The Strip) but the rest of the trip had been open road and easy driving.

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TravelnWrite is

. . . about chasing a daydream. We are boomer ex pats from America's Pacific Northwest who decided to grow olives in Greece instead of old at home. Come join us as we discover the wonders of our new world. We are vagabonds at heart and keep our bags packed and ready to explore new lands! Come. . .join us on a journey through life.

The Scout and The Scribe

Joel's 'The Scout', who scouts out travel deals and destinations.
Jackie's 'The Scribe', who writes the tales and tips we've gathered on our travels.
Together, we are boomer-aged American's who've just become full-time ex pats living in the Greek Peloponnese. In addition to our travel adventures we now grow olives - we preferred that to simply 'growing old.'
We live in a small Greek village in an area calledThe Mani, on the Peloponnese peninsula.
We've lived a nomadic-lifestyle for two decades and finally decided to have a 'final fling' on this side of the Atlantic.
We chased our daydream and caught it. It can be done ~ and through this blog we hope to inspire you to go after yours whether real or from your armchair!
Have a question? Just want to chat? You can reach us at: travelnwrite@msn.com

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"Thank you so much for the post about us! We had internet today and thoroughly enjoyed reading about us - you did an excellent job of summarizing our crazy life," Doug and Carla, writers and sailors, @ Following Moondance blog, South Pacific

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TravelnWrite is about chasing the daydream whether it be done in real life or from the armchair. It's about travel and ex pat life in Greece; our tips and tales of people and places. Our posts will arrive weekly if you sign up below. You'll get an email from Feedburner asking if you really want to receive them - please say yes!

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Travelnwrite is about Travelin' Right!

In our 35 years together, we've logged thousands of air and sea miles exploring far-away and close-to-home destinations. We quit our '8 - 5' jobs more than a dozen years ago. . .long before retirement age.

After living out of carry-on sized suitcases for more than a third of the year we decided to straddle the Atlantic and have part-time roots in two places (which makes for carry-on sized bags).

We split our at-home time between Washington State, in the United State's Pacific Northwest and our home on a hill above Agios Dimetrio, a small village in The Mani, a part of Greek's Peloponnese. (We decided to grow olives instead of old!)

Joel, The Scout, is the deal finder; deals which often prompt the destination.

Jackie, The Scribe and photographer, is a freelance writer/photographer whose articles are found in:

Print and On-Line Publications including:

* The Oregonian

* Seattle Times

* KirklandViews

* AAA's Puget Sound Journey

* RealFoodTraveler

Together we have created TravelnWrite, the online travel lifestyle magazine.

Our tales are designed to inspire those who travel independently and our tips on destinations and deals are meant to inform: how tocut costs and travel more for less. Those of you arm-chair travelers sit back and come along with us as we introduce you to interesting people and explore new places along the way.

Our trips are not freebies - we pay our way around the world. On rare occasion our travels are hosted and will be noted as such on the post about them. The opinions and observations, recommendations and reviews we write are purely our own.

Our unstructured, independent travel-style isn't for everyone. Nor is our approach to cost-cutting. Everyone has their own comfort level - both mentally and physically.

To reach us write: travelnwrite@msn.com. Better yet, leave a comment so that all readers can benefit from your tips and tales as well!